The Energon Pub

Third party toy maker Headrobots has updated their website with new images of their upcoming upgrade set for the ROTF Masters of Metalikato two pack featuring Bludgeon and Whirl, repaints of Wreckage and Blackout respectively. These new pictures give us a detailed look at both the new heads and the weapons for each figure. The Bludgeon head features a flip around gimmick similar to Masterpiece Starscream's giving collectors the ability to choose between the classic or comic look. The figure's weapons turn into a cannon add-on for the armored vehicle. For Whirl, the Gyro head upgrade gives the figure an instant G1 makeover and his weapons convert to side mounted guns for the helicopter mode.












To see all the images on Headrobot's site, click: http://headrobots.com/?p=369

Wonder if they'll be selling these seperately and/or in a set... More interested in the Whirl stuff than Bludgeon's since I got his voyager version.

Swiftpaw wrote:Wonder if they'll be selling these seperately and/or in a set... More interested in the Whirl stuff than Bludgeon's since I got his voyager version.

Me too, though I may get the Bludgeon set for that cannon.

TRU had this set on sale last week. Maybe I need to pick it up. Worst case, I could sell if if I decide not to buy these. That Bludgeon upgrade is pretty cool though.

By far, HeadRobots trumps the ROTF "Bugeyes" Bludgeon.

This is too cool.

I picked up the Masters of Metallako set at TRU during the sale, he was already on clearance so I got the set for 9 bucks.

all three look awesome, hopefully the quality will be worth the price.

Problem is this version of Bludgeon is supposed to look like the INNER robot, not the shell. He already has an inner robot accurate head! The weapons are a good add on, but the head is not right. I'd buy the set without the head.

I mean compare G1 Bludgeon's head with that of the Deluxe movie toys. It's pretty close.

G1 Bludgeon's head:


Movie Deluxe Bludgeon's head:

woah whirl looks like something out of armored core now

YES! YES! YES! Now THERE'S a Bludgeon I can back! w00t!

And hell, that Whirl ain't bad either. Good thing I picked up that set for the helluva it. Was planning on selling it, but not now. Wonder how high the ebay prices will soar now.

DevastaTTor wrote:TRU had this set on sale last week. Maybe I need to pick it up. Worst case, I could sell if if I decide not to buy these. That Bludgeon upgrade is pretty cool though.

I'd picked this pack up on clearance a while back, mainly because I didn't have the remold version of Blackout that was used for Whirl, and the Wreckage mold is pretty neat on its own (and does look better in not-Arctic-Cameo I admit).. Hmm.. good point, that cannon would look nice on it even if you didn't change the heads.

I guess which head you like depends on which one you want to see, that's a good point that Wreckage's head does look more like the 'inner robot' head, while others are designed like the 'undead samurai' head of his pretender shell.

Really liking these guys. I'll be picking up Gyro, Blood, and Hothead. Bludgeon looks fantastic. I like Whirl, but giving him guns kind of kills the Metallako story.

Kinda makes me wish I had the Master of metallikato set.

This convinces me go pick up one of those clearance Whirl/Bludgeon sets.

REGIFISHY wrote:Kinda makes me wish I had the Master of metallikato set.

Find one while you can! Locally or online!

Seriously, with an upgrade kit like this you can expect that two-pack to disappear from bins & shelves, and online prices to jump shortly.

Blurrz wrote:I knew these would be turning out to be cool, didn't think Blood would be so freaking awesome!

Agreed. I may pack up the ROTF version and put this one on the shelf instead.

Scaleface wrote:Problem is this version of Bludgeon is supposed to look like the INNER robot, not the shell. He alreadt has an inner robot accurate head! The weapons are a good add on, but the head is not right. I'd buy the set without the head.

I mean compare G1 Bludgeon's head with that of the Deluxe movie toys. It's pretty close.

G1 Bludgeon's head:


Movie Bludgeon's head:

I think the HeadRobots upgrade for Bludgeon gives him the best of both worlds. You can have him look like his Pretender Shell for robot mode, but can still keep the tank alternate mode.

Overall, I like the Blood upgrade parts. Unfortunately, I have ZERO interest in the Gyro side of the kit. That movie mold is awful. I'll bet they are only releasing parts for Whirl simply because he is packaged with that Bludgeon. They want to give customers more bang for their buck. Admirable, but utterly pointless.

As for a potential price jump, I don't ever see this 2-pack going for more than $35 on the secondary market. The upgrade kit is nice, but almost every TRU is currently clogged with the set. Even if they do become more scarce, I just don't see the demand. The kit is nice, but rather unnecessary IMO. Most people will pass for a few reasons:

A) He or she already has the Voyager Bludgeon.
B) Whirl's mold doesn't fit with the Classics style like Deluxe Bludgeon. A new head won't change the fact that Whirl uses a bad movie mold.
C) The price for the kit itself. I'm sure it will be reasonable, but I'll bet the kit will go for around $20. Some fans don't want to pay that for a few accessories and a couple of new heads.

EDIT: I wish HeadRobots would focus more on that Iguana HM or another HM related project. I'm far more interested in projects like that. Just look at the Hothead upgrade kit. Fans can't wait to get more info/pictures on that upgrade.

Tirade wrote:As for a potential price jump, I don't ever see this 2-pack going for more than $35 on the secondary market. The upgrade kit is nice, but almost every TRU is currently clogged with the set. Even if they do become more scarce, I just don't see the demand. The kit is nice, but rather unnecessary IMO. Most people will pass for a few reasons:

A) He or she already has the Voyager Bludgeon.
B) Whirl's mold doesn't fit with the Classics style like Deluxe Bludgeon. A new head won't change the fact that Whirl uses a bad movie mold.
C) The price for the kit itself. I'm sure it will be reasonable, but I'll bet the kit will go for around $20. Some fans don't want to pay that for a few accessories and a couple of new heads.

I said the same thing for the Energon-styled combiner set of RotF Bruticus. Sat on my local shelves for who knows how long. Fansprojects announces, next thing you know you can't find find the set within the DFW area. I got stuck paying a very inflated secondary price on that, so did many others. Prior to the Bruticus upgrade I had no interest in the set at all, something I wasn't alone in.

Other than that, let me offer that Voyager Bludgeon isn't some be-all. I rode the hype-train myself only to be severely disappointed, especially with the head mold of the toy. Probably going to be selling it off for whatever I can get next go around on ebay. Hell, Bludgeon's one of the shelfwarmers where I am nowadays. As to Whirl, the original Whirl was an oddball of design in the TF line so to speak, so I don't see the trouble with this take on the character. I know I dig the new look, and I'm more into the Classics/Universe/Generations than the movie items.

Just my two cents.

Covenant wrote:

Tirade wrote:As for a potential price jump, I don't ever see this 2-pack going for more than $35 on the secondary market. The upgrade kit is nice, but almost every TRU is currently clogged with the set. Even if they do become more scarce, I just don't see the demand. The kit is nice, but rather unnecessary IMO. Most people will pass for a few reasons:

A) He or she already has the Voyager Bludgeon.
B) Whirl's mold doesn't fit with the Classics style like Deluxe Bludgeon. A new head won't change the fact that Whirl uses a bad movie mold.
C) The price for the kit itself. I'm sure it will be reasonable, but I'll bet the kit will go for around $20. Some fans don't want to pay that for a few accessories and a couple of new heads.

I said the same thing for the Energon-styled combiner set of RotF Bruticus. Sat on my local shelves for who knows how long. Fansprojects announces, next thing you know you can't find find the set within the DFW area. I got stuck paying a very inflated secondary price on that, so did many others. Prior to the Bruticus upgrade I had no interest in the set at all, something I wasn't alone in.

Other than that, let me offer that Voyager Bludgeon isn't some be-all. I rode the hype-train myself only to be severely disappointed, especially with the head mold of the toy. Probably going to be selling it off for whatever I can get next go around on ebay. Hell, Bludgeon's one of the shelfwarmers where I am nowadays. As to Whirl, the original Whirl was an oddball of design in the TF line so to speak, so I don't see the trouble with this take on the character. I know I dig the new look, and I'm more into the Classics/Universe/Generations than the movie items.

Just my two cents.

Comparing this to RotF Bruticus is a bad comparison. FansProject has created 2 new transforming robots for the set. We aren't just talking about a couple of heads and a few accessories. Heck, I'd argue Bruticus is more iconic than either Whirl or Bludgeon. There is more of a following. To go even further, I think there is a huge following for combiners in general.

As for Voyager Bludgeon, I still think it fills the void for a Samurai Bludgeon. The Deluxe version (combined with this kit) is trying to fill an niche that is already full. Now if HeadRobots decided to release a new, G1 type head for the Voyager mold, the kit might sell somewhat better.

Also, if you are more into the CHUG stuff, then you will probably not like Whirl. He uses Movie Blackout's mold. That is the definition of a movie styled TF. There are not many Classic aspects to him. Giving him a new head and weapons doesn't alter a bad mold.

These kits are nice, but will never rival the demand for FP's Bruticus upgrade, FP's Ultra Magnus upgrade or FP's upcoming Protector set. There justn't isn't that much to this Gryo and Blood upgrade.

Tirade wrote:
I think the HeadRobots upgrade for Bludgeon gives him the best of both worlds. You can have him look like his Pretender Shell for robot mode, but can still keep the tank alternate mode.

Why would I want a custom that looks like half of one toy, and half of another?

I just need to figure out how to combine the two toys (Deluxer and Voyager) into one big robot now!

BTW - The inner Bludgeon robot had a handgun. Where is that?

Scaleface wrote:

Tirade wrote:
I think the HeadRobots upgrade for Bludgeon gives him the best of both worlds. You can have him look like his Pretender Shell for robot mode, but can still keep the tank alternate mode.

Why would I want a custom that looks like half of one toy, and half of another?

I just need to figure out how to combine the two toys (Deluxer and Voyager) into one big robot now!

BTW - The inner Bludgeon robot had a handgun. Where is that?

If you want to get technical, Voyager Bludgeon is half of one toy and half of another as well. The shell itself never had an alt mode. Just saying.

As for the hand gun, I could not care less. I'd rather have him with swords and daggers. Guns don't seem to fit his character.

EDIT: I don't see the problem in meshing the inner robot look with his shell look. Bludgeon fans recognize his outer shell look. Might as well keep those aesthetics.

Went by TRU and got the last set they had. It was on clearance and I had a coupon so I ended up getting it for about 15.00.

Tirade wrote:Comparing this to RotF Bruticus is a bad comparison. FansProject has created 2 new transforming robots for the set. We aren't just talking about a couple of heads and a few accessories. Heck, I'd argue Bruticus is more iconic than either Whirl or Bludgeon. There is more of a following. To go even further, I think there is a huge following for combiners in general.

Now that's a matter of personal opinion entirely. I still speak to events that happened. True, it's a lesser scale of upgrade, but a fan-catering upgrade none the less.

Tirade wrote:As for Voyager Bludgeon, I still think it fills the void for a Samurai Bludgeon. The Deluxe version (combined with this kit) is trying to fill an niche that is already full.

Okay, it fills it for you, not for myself. And while I won't come close to claiming RotF Bludgeon some FAIL for all, I know I'm not the only one that was disappointed. As for 'a niche that is already full', how do you figure, even if you personally dig Voyager Bludgeon? That's, what, two figures (one requiring an upgrade) released around the same time after how many years of no Bludgeon releases? Best to save that claim for the usual suspects like Megs, Prime, Screamers, etc.

Tirade wrote:Also, if you are more into the CHUG stuff, then you will probably not like Whirl. He uses Movie Blackout's mold. That is the definition of a movie styled TF. There are not many Classic aspects to him. Giving him a new head and weapons doesn't alter a bad mold.

And yet I have both Blackout & Grindor, and just said a couple of times I'm diggin' this Whirl.

Go figure.

El Duque wrote:Went by TRU and got the last set they had. It was on clearance and I had a coupon so I ended up getting it for about 15.00.

SCORE!

@Covenant

I'm glad you are happy with all aspects of this upgrade. I still think this upgrade kit is a far cry from some of the upgrades offered by FansProject. Heck, I don't even think this upgrade kit can even compare to some of HeadRobots previous or curent work. I think the Cobra and Hothead are far more popular (especially Hothead).

As for the Bruticus upgrade, I think the facts speak for themselves. That upgrade includes 2 new transforming robots that are classics styled (Swindle and Blastoff). This Gyro and Blood one does not. Doesn't even include a transformable headmaster. That's a huge difference in my book. Also, I'd like to know whom this upgrade is catering to. Before this was announced, I didn't exactly hear a rallying cry for another Samurai Bludgeon or Classics Whirl. Fans of the Energon combiners have wanted more stable combiners ever since they were released. There has been a clear demand for a long time now. Can't say that for the Gyro and Blood upgrade.

In regards to your dislike for Voyager Bludgeon, I sympathize. There are aspects I don't like about that mold. However, a majority of people seem to be very satisfied with him. Heck, after the news of this Gyro/Blood kit was announced, the one big question was this: does the kit come with a new head for Voyager Bludgeon? That's all I have read regarding the kit over at TFW2005.

EDIT: In the end, I just don't see the market for this upgrade. I'd argue there's more of a demand for Venksta's Skyfall kit.